At the Kipnis Studios (KSS)™: LessLoss Blackbody Ambient Field
Conditioners and Dynamic Filtering Power Cablesby Jeremy R. Kipnis at KSS™

LessLoss
Blackbody Ambient Field Conditioner

LessLoss DFPC Dynamic Filtering Power Cable

Introduction

A long time ago, in the spring of 1983, the very first CD player ever marketed,
the SONY CDP-101, was delivered to my friend and neighbor, Ed Foster, for
testing and evaluation. Ed was one of two people at High Fidelity and (as it
turns out—their sister publication) Audio Magazine whose job it was to test
and document all aspects of the equipment under review; it turned out that he
would be receiving a new version of each and every new CD player that was about
to come out in this fledgling digital market. Fortunately, he was happy to let
my father and I borrow a unit or two, as they became available to him—for
our 2nd opinions of both the sound and operating performance.
Naturally, we borrowed and integrated the new SONY into one of two review
systems, and listened to a stack of early CD pressings; mostly classical, but a
few examples of Rock, Pop, Country, and Soundtracks, were thrown in too. And in
comparison to our analog sources, which included LP, LaserDisc, R2R, and
Cassette Tapes, the new CD format uniformly sounded more dynamic, more
explosive, and more vibrant, with quieter backgrounds than the identical LP
albums we had on hand. But there was a penalty for this clean and immediate
digital sound; grain and a certain gritty quality to the entire presentation,
which made everything sound both brighter and harsher, by comparison. There was
also a collapse of the soundstage to just behind the line of the speakers; so no
real sense of imaging was apparent, even in well known and established cases,
such as the DECCA (London) recording of Sir George Solti and the London
Symphony Orchestra. These sounded flat and dimensionless in direct
comparisons to the same recording on different analog mediums.

After several years of borrowing and comparing one Compact Disc player to
another (and to the equivalent commercially available LPs), CD sound was
gradually beginning to take on a more spatial and tonally accurate sense of
presentation; thanks in part to the use of oversampling filters, better analog
output components, improved transport mechanisms and clamps, and even the very
first outboard Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs); making it possible to
isolate the digital components from any analog ones, nearly completely. During
this era, I had my audio equipment in a 48" tall rolling equipment rack, with
each component on its own isolated shelf; cradled on some early Steve Sim's
black NAVCOM vibration absorbing pucks (in sets of four). What I had discovered
in the preceding few years (since 1980) was the importance of using the BEST
possible cables we could afford to get our hands on. And the effect of the
length of those cables became both a costly issue, and an important sonic
lesson. Because of this, I evolved my component layout to connect everything
together via the shortest possible lengths; some interconnects were a mere ½
meter long, running out the back of the rack; mostly Monster Cable M1 & M1000,
but also some AudioQuest, Straight Wire, Kimber, and Van Den Hul would make
appearances at times.

What became clear was a condition that was first identified in the late 1980s as
"Electromagnetic Backwash," wherein the location of audio components, like a
preamp, CD & LD players, DACs, R2R, and cassette, directly contaminate the
audio being switched, processed, and amplified by other components. Digital
devices are worse than analog only components in this respect. Thus, stacking a
CD player directly on top of a preamp or receiver invariably causes the sound
of the whole system to get worse and to gain in musically unrelated distortion
while losing all the characteristics associated with good high-end playback,
including sound staging and micro dynamics. Unquestionably, audio (and video)
components send out (or spew) a whole soup of RFI & EMI components that are
easily picked up by other audio (and video) components; all analog components
are especially vulnerable since they inherently switch and amplify analog
signals that are minute in voltage and/or current. With 1/2 meter cables in
particular, I was able to reliably hear this added distortion, much more easily
than with longer cables, which seemed to smear or jumble the audio presentation
(see my Report on the Skogrand Cables for more on the audio effects of cables on
recording and playback gear). So, there was plenty of evidence, way back,
pointing toward a clear trade-off between near field component proximity and
direct EM interplay, resulting in audio degradation.

Just like a
table top radio, each and every component (it turns out) also acts as an antenna
by drawing in and amplifying certain ambient electromagnetic (EM) fields
generated by other components, radio stations, TV transmitters, garage door
openers, and now cell phones, etc. And digital components (since they contain
both analog and digital audio circuits in close proximity) must be engineered in
such a way as to screen and separate any analog from any digital circuits; even
down and back to the AC transformers. So unless you purchased an extremely over
engineered DAC, digital receiver, preamp, or amp with heavy all copper chassis, EMF mesh screens on every section, and separate power supplies for every section
of a circuit (plus individual regulation), you would just have to live with
"digititis" while listening to non-analog sources. For me, this meant spending
more money on engineering and isolation from the ground up; I was fond of SONY
high-end ES (Espirit) CD players and transport/DACs beginning with the 608-ESD,
and extending to the R1/DAS-1, as well as certain Pioneer LaserDisc players with
heavy copper chassis, like the LD-S1 & S2. And you might imagine that analog
video components operate in the same Megahertz frequency band as digital audio;
so those devices also interfere and contaminate each other's performance, as
well.

All in all, a very mixed bag sonically; such was the first 10 years of
commercial digital audio, in particular. The reason for this is that energy can
neither be created nor destroyed, but it can be modulated to send and receive
signals (the basis of all our electronic communications). When this is done
digitally, the high frequency switching of the binary signal is represented by
analog square waves. Undesired remnants and 'echoes' of these impulses can
easily travel from one component we use to enjoy high-end media playback to
another. They and other switching noise (from refrigerators, washers, dryers,
dimmers, etc.) can come from sources inside and outside our own home; they hitch
a ride on the incoming AC power, entering from your wall socket, and contaminate
your audio (or video) with low level noise and distortion. So if your neighbors
are all listening to their CD players, and watching their TVs, or using their
computers to surf the Internet, noise generated by those devices feeds back into
the AC power, affecting everyone using the same line, including your local
neighborhood, within a few miles of your home. The effect of all this RFI / EMI
noise coming from within and without your audio system has been shown to
adversely modulate the music signal, resulting in (for each different album
auditioned and played):

1) Flattening of the soundstage dimensions

2) Inclusion of grain and noise that causes a "glassy" sound

3) Compression
of dynamics through raising the noise floor

4) Listener
fatigue due to inharmonic distortions

But... the
problem of RFI & EMI is further compounded by even more electro-Magnetic and
electro-Static interactions; occurring even between the materials of the
equipment rack, the carpet, even the furniture present in the listening room;
beyond the usual acoustic contribution that any object has in a highly defined
listening environment! Perhaps you've heard the effects which certain objects
have when they are in the proximity of your audio gear; even the gear
orientation itself (even when it wasn't digital).

From Louis
Motek at
LessLoss:

Something's
Been Missing

All power
filters and conditioners address noise found on wires, but there's another type
of noise altogether. until now, this inconspicuous type of noise has been
largely unacknowledged. It is caused by constant electromagnetic interaction
between gear and immediately surrounding objects: stands, racks, nearby signal
wiring, enclosures, and other objects containing circuitry or not. This type of
radiated EM noise is not confined to wires. The Blackbody works by absorbing
these reflections, effectively solving the problem. Being the only conditioner
of its kind, it offers a level of performance previously unattainable.

AV equipment is
created using a wide range of chassis materials; each type affecting sound
quality in different ways.

EM Radiation
is the Cause

EM radiation
is energy with electrical and magnetic properties that travels in waves. These
waves are produced by moving charged particles. Since all things are made up of
charged particles, every object radiates EM energy (unless at absolute-zero
temperature). Matter also selectively absorbs and reflects EM energy, and each
material's EM absorption and reflection pattern is distinct. All matter has its
own fingerprint, a type of pattern called a spectral signature of radiation.
These patterns are so distinct, scientists can identify the elements of nature
from these unique spectral radiation patterns alone. Even the atmospheric
composition of distant planets reveal themselves in this way.

Quite
simply, different materials proximate to your circuitry will affect that
circuitry. Your component enclosures, equipment rack, scattered CD collection
and all other objects in the room—including the air surrounding your
circuitry—are active participants in the shared EM ecosystem. In this mutual
network of interaction, the EM radiation emanating from your gear interacts with
all other objects' absorption and reflection patterns in a complex fashion, much
like the echo and diffusion of sound waves from various objects in a church,
only much more quickly, to the point of occurring practically instantaneously.

The Blackbody
acts to absorb different spectra of EMI / RFI equally well; reflecting back only
a tiny fraction of the energy impinging on it.

The Solution

The Blackbody is unlike any other filter or conditioner: by absorbing any
EM wavelength and by radiating none in our visible bandwidth, the device is as
black as black can be; you might even say it is blacker than black, since it'd
be the absence of light radiation altogether. Our version of the blackbody is
not wired to gear and contains no batteries or power supply; instead, within the
device is a special reflector whose emission pattern approaches that of the
ideal blackbody radiator. By creating this near perfect blackbody, we've created
a device that, simply by being placed in your gear's ambient EM field, will
absorb virtually any EM radiation at that location. There, gear will no longer
be able to bounce EM radiation off proximate objects, only to have it return to
influence its delicate signals and degrade sound quality. The Blackbody's EM
radiation pattern lacks a distinct spectral signature, making it impossible for
its own radiation to cause sound coloration.

Power
contamination comes from a variety of sources (refrigerator, television,
computer, etc.) from both inside and outside your home. High Frequency noise
enters your AV gear through the wall AC outlet. It is therefore possible to
filter it out, using a DFPC power cord.

High
frequency signals, extending far into the multi-gigahertz range, permeate our
atmosphere every day and many have not yet come to adequately appreciate the
profound effect such noise has on the listening experience. Because it is indeed
inconsequential to the audio gear's lower realms of mere purpose-built
functionality ("hey, it plays..."), HF noise is allowed to circumvent
gear-internal filtering circuitry through capacitive and inductive coupling.
Detrimental effects are widespread as HF noise causes distortion via haphazard
intermodulation throughout the gear's circuitry. Without proper filtering,
significant signal degradation is inevitable. HF signals naturally attenuate
along wires (the "Skin" Effect), making HF noise on the power line most intense
the closer it is induced to your gear. So, any means employed to prevent HF
noise from entering your gear will be most effective closest to the gear's IEC
inlet. The DFPC Power Cord therefore occupies the most critical location
to condition power for higher quality audio purposes.

High Frequency
noise is eliminated through "Ramped Attenuation"; a natural result of the "Skin
Effect" which occurs in solid core conductors.

The Product(s)

1) Five (5)
LessLoss - Blackbody Ambient Field Conditioners ($1323):

2) Five (5) LessLoss –
DFPC
Dynamic Filtering Power Cables ($1149)

These two
different technologies (as well as others made by LessLoss, including their
Firewall Power Conditioners) are expressly designed to absorb, deflect, and
prevent EMI, RFI, and ESI from entering (or re-entering) your audio & video
components; thereby allowing them to function with the least amount of noise and
induced distortion, possible.

The
specifications from the manufacturer

Blackbody

The Blackbody's effective angle is 35° outward from its front side. For optimal
performance, use the outer boundaries of this angle as a sort of virtual cone to
be placed as tightly as possible around as much component circuitry as possible.

Placement
diagram for the LessLoss BlackBody Ambient Field Conditioner

This is not your typical "talisman" tweak. Such tweaks are accompanied by
diminishing returns once coloration sets in. The Blackbody, on the other hand,
is the only object that removes the influence of near-field EM reflections. It
lowers the system's noise floor, yet at the same time does nothing to color the
sound.

The closer the Blackbody, without excluding main circuitry, the better the
results.

Peek inside your gear to determine the layout of the circuitry.

Since circuitry configurations vary, trial and error often yields best results.

A
good place to start positioning is 15-40 cm from your components.

Several Blackbodies can be used in tandem to maximize coverage and
effectiveness.

(1) If you're
using exclusively DFPC Originals or exclusively DFPC Signatures, apply them to
your system's components in the following order.

(2) If you're
using at least one DFPC Signature, and the rest are DFPC Originals, first apply
the Signature(s) in the following order, and then apply the DFPC Original(s) to
the remaining components.

1st:
Source (CD player; DAC; Phono preamplifier)

2nd:
Power Amps

3rd:
Preamplifier

4th:
Power conditioner; regenerators, power distribution units

5th:
Phono motor

http://www.lessloss.com/dfpc-series-p-213.html

Pricing
Structure

So, what value
do you place on an "add-on" component versus buying or upgrading to a better
grade of gear? In this case, a Blackbody cost $1323 USD direct from the
manufacturer (international freight costs are included in the price), and at
that price you obviously should expect some type of audio improvement not
offered in mainstream electronics. If you get more than one, it can quickly add
up to the cost of a new component. This is a new method of addressing EMI & RFI
so depending on your system's susceptibility and its actual resolution; the
improvements will vary from system to system.

It is safe to
say that changing any power cord for any other (in a high resolution system &
listening room) will make some kind of difference to the sonic presentation. But
when real engineering is featured, you are getting a whole different breed of
improvement and a bargain if the improvement is obvious. Thus, at a starting
price of $595, the DFPC Power Cord (which includes Oyaide model 079
connectors that retail from $216 - $250 plus shipping) seems fair; ordering 2
cables will give you a 5% discount on both, ordering 3 or more gives you 10%
off. Shipping is FREE via UPS, to any country in the world. Considering all
this, we are obviously dealing with a very high value to cost proposition.

The following
depicts my personal experience with the Blackbodies over the course of one year.
I did not want to rush publishing my observations because of the novel nature of
the matter, and my initial cautious skepticism. I needed to be sure about what I
was hearing, as well as be consistent over time. I also needed to make sure I
was not suffering under delusion or emotional inclination, as can easily happen
in the field of audio, due to the well-known affiliation between one's hearing
and the realm of emotions associated with music. Only once I felt enough time
had passed, and enough research had been completed, did I consider publishing
these findings.

At the
beginning of June, 2012, I received five Blackbody units and each was packed
separately in its own UPS International wrapper. Each contained a box made of
corrugated cardboard with a soft foam insert formed to perfectly cradle the
Blackbody. Each unit came with a basic use instruction card.

The LessLoss
Blackbody in its shipping box (with instruction sheet).

This is the first time I had reviewed a passive device intended to affect nearby
electromagnetic fields. Certainly, any object will affect the acoustic
environment of the listening room to some degree, but these little gems offered
something quite different from that. And while it may seem a crazy concept, the
Blackbody actually works! And that, from the moment I got them. I set them up as
instructed, in my primary 2-channel listening system, except… I intentionally
left them in their shipping boxes (so as not to be psychologically influenced by
their appearance). They worked as indicated; even without having been unwrapped
(I know all too well the power of suggestion, especially when related to the
field of audio). I critically listened to their effect on my reference system
for over 3 weeks before even unwrapping them; but the effect after unwrapping
them was the same.

I realize just
what this type of testing proved: the rather unspectacular notion that the
Blackbody works on account of its operational theory of near field
electromagnetic reflection, and nothing more. This is exactly the same reason
that your cell phone, or a magnet, are unaffected by a cardboard box. The fields
involved in the operation of a cell phone, a magnet, or even the Blackbody, do
not "see" the cardboard box any more than our eyes see glass or even the air we
are constantly looking "through." Electromagnetic fields permeate our lives,
interacting invisibly with each other and with all objects, including our AV
(and recording) gear. Its effect on sound and picture quality should be obvious,
considering the minute levels of the signals we are reconstructing and how
subject they are to added distortion products.

Therefore, the moment they were placed within a ½ meter of any gear under
audition, the audible difference in performance was both subtle and dramatic.
Initially, I placed two units in a crisscross fashion to cover (bathe) the PS
Audio PowerWave DAC within the 35-degree inclusive operating angle of the
Blackbody units. I also placed one each next to the Crown Macro Reference
amplifiers, and then later the Carver VTA-20 tube amps; located within 40 cm of
the central transformer and to cover the tubes, as well. Finally, one unit was
exclusively devoted to covering my MacBook Pro 17 Laptop, which is serving as
the digital audio media server, with the best results achieved with the unit
about 25 cm in back of the screen.

With the five Blackbody units thus set up, I heard these specific changes to a
wide range of familiar audio albums and files, from just about every type of
music, on hand:

1) Virtually grain-free presentation

2) Expanded and explosive dynamics with intricate low level details

3) Much more spacious sound staging with more stable and seemingly larger
presentation size

Initially, I
simply brought them into my 2-channel listening room (which had been playing for
about 8 hours, previously.) I set one up in front of each of the two CROWN Macro
Reference amplifiers, about 10 cm directly in front, one under the PS Audio
PowerWave DAC II, and the last two on my coffee table, in front of me where I
can place or remove my laptop—the music server. In each case, the Blackbody
device is passive, and does not contact or get connected to any part of
the audio system.

Oh, I should
also mention... I did NOT unwrap them from their UPS bubble wrapping—so
they look like packages, right now. Want to know if anything audibly changed?

First
Report:

1) Much of the
electronic HASH is GONE! Normally, this electronic haze clouds imaging and sound
staging, and also causes a fatiguing grunge to be present in the upper midrange
and lower treble. It also makes louder sounds WORSE overall!

2) Dynamics (as
a whole) are now much wider; that is, the loudest parts playing are noticeably
louder while the quieter parts have become softer, presented against a VERY
BLACK background, where previously grunge existed before the Blackbody's
introduction.

3) The harmonic
structure of instruments and the acoustic space itself (as heard in the various
recordings I am auditioning) ALL show a NEW (inter)related connection amongst
themselves along with a wholeness of sonic presentation WITHIN the hall which
was simply NOT AUDIBLE before.

With these 3
observations also comes the following reactions:

A) I am
inclined to turn up the volume several dB because the sense of strain that was
present above a certain volume level during playback of known materials is no
longer as present. To that end, I can now hear better into the acoustic of the
various recordings I'm auditioning because I raised the overall volume, and the
presentation suddenly falls into place properly as it would in the actual hall
itself—for reference (and so you can try this at home), I am listening here to:

B) Inner
details of the recorded acoustic venue and the placement of individual
instruments within that space has become vastly more solid and life-like,
tangible and palpable; given the perspective found in the recording, which would
place one 12 feet in the air hanging over the conductor's head, but back a few
feet! Consequently, the holographic imaging has the orchestra descending both
BACK and UP; in the same way as you might see it if you were hanging there, like
a camera.

C) In spite of
hearing this performance many hundreds of times since it came out in 1985 (it's
one of my 20 best sounding recordings), I now find myself hearing YET NEW things
I have never heard, before. Inner harmonies are now clear during both the most
massive and the most silent moments. And the degree to which the soundstage
hangs free from the speakers is now PALPABLE and VISCERAL, very much the way the
BEST Analog discs and tapes sound!

Second Report

Let's examine a
specific example (now that the Blackbody (x5) Ambient Field Conditioners have
been in place for about 4 hours:

I first
purchased this recording on CD (a 3-Disc Box set, $35) back in 1986, from
Tower Records 4th & Broadway store; now a relic of a bygone era. It was a
glorious purchase, with the sort of reverence for what was about to happen,
BEFORE you actually purchased and played the album.

Here, under the
initial influence of the LessLoss Blackbody units, I hear the following (after
26 years of listening to this album):

1) There is a
clear and precise continuity of rhythm and pacing; and this equates, for me, to
the same sensation I experience when listening LIVE!

2) Resonances
that naturally occur between musical instruments and the acoustic space(s) they
perform in (and are recorded within) have become particularly clear and focused,
so that when a soloist performs both they and their instrument stand out as two
separate but connected physical objects, out in the soundfield being
projected free from the speakers.

3) Wife,
Carolina (who has also gravitated to this
particular recording and performance, since its birth) is for the very first
time NOT singing along with the performance. Why (is she not accompanying the
performance)?

A) There is a
new level of detail present in the playback, which has been completely obscured
until now. Bear in mind that the playback speakers and amplifiers are from 1994,
and in original condition!

B) I can't stop
playing this performance, even though I have a library of available music that
spans 12 TB and over 400 days of continuous music (much of it that I actually
like and listen to, regularly)!

C) I switched
performances of the same piece (BACH: B-Minor Mass, this time with Johannette
Zomer, Véronique Gens, Etc.; Philippe Herreweghe: Collegium Vocale Gent), and... WIFE is still transfixed, and not trying to sing along! Astounding... in my 6 years of marriage, this has never happened with this piece, or
these performances!

These Blackbody
units are unlike anything else in consumer or professional audio. And... they
make a consistent and impressive improvement in any well put together high
resolution audiophile playback system; not to mention home theater! LessLoss
Blackbody Ambient Field Conditioners—they could very easily have been just
another brand of snake oil—but they do, in fact, work!!!

The REAL
challenge comes in explaining, clearly and scientifically, what is going on
here. And why Louis Motek is a f***ing genius!!! You are going to have to bear
with me as I explore a potentially new and rocky terrain in tweakery (and
equipment circuit design)!

Third Report

Let's consider
what is going on in this audio experiment via an understanding of a unique and
great sounding 20th Century musical instrument (though some might
argue that point) known as the Theremin (and featured in the film, The Day
the Earth Stood Still, (uncut studio session takes):

The Day The
Earth Stood Still
(Original Soundtrack) [20th Century Fox Film Scores -
B000005LBW]
- The Classic Series

The Theremin… is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible
physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor,
Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. The controlling
section usually consists of two metal antennas which sense the position of the
player's hands and control oscillators for frequency with one hand, and
amplitude (volume) with the other, so it can be played without being touched.
The electric signals from the Theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker.

The Theremin
was used in movie soundtracks such as Miklós Rózsa's Spellbound and
The Lost Weekend as well as Bernard Herrmann's The Day the Earth Stood
Still, also as the theme tune for the ITV drama Midsummer Murders.
This has led to its association with a very eerie sound. Theremins are also used
in concert music (especially avant-garde and 20th- and 21st-century new music)
and in popular music genres such as rock. Psychedelic rock bands in particular,
such as Hawkwind, have often used the Theremin in their work. –
from Wikipedia

So...
hands-free control of an invisible EMF (Electro-Magnetic Field) surrounding the
two antenna wands of the instrument—connected to a loudspeaker! Hmmm—do you see where this is going? If hands can make an audible difference
interacting with a known EMF field (while playing the Theremin) and one can
learn to play that field and produce recognizable music, then why isn't
that same EMF field (radiating outward from every AV device) also effecting
every other AV device in one's Hi-Fi System (or Home Theater)? What about
the EMF coming from a cell phone or tablet's Wi-Fi? And from radio, TV, and cell
towers?

EMF pollution
is what makes typical audio reproduction sound like a Hi-Fi (read: artificial
audio reproduction)! Most audio equipment (even the best) is subject to noise
coming from the many interacting EMF of all varieties, frequencies, and
amplitudes, present in our daily lives; even the EMF interactions between the
Earth and the Sun (which itself has a regular heartbeat every 8 minutes) can
play a role and effect the absolute fidelity presented by audio and video
technologies (albeit a small one). Confused? Think about it this way:

If you enter a large cathedral (with a very reflective acoustic) and walk about
in there, you will quickly hear how any sound bounces around in the room,
becoming ever more of a repeating echo as it fades away in volume. If there are
a bunch of people all walking and talking in this Cathedral, that continuously
echoing background will "WASH OUT" anything specific anyone is saying below a
certain volume level.

So if a solo
vocalist is singing softly, there, 20 feet in front of you, you might not be
able to make out exactly what she is singing (lyrics), but you can get the gist
of it. The louder the surrounding people in the cathedral are speaking, the
less you can discern from the female singer. Conversely, if everyone shuts
up or the acoustics suddenly become absorptive and dry (non-reflective of audio
frequencies) you will suddenly hear so much more of the singer; you can even
hear her breathing!

The same kind
of reduction in ambient noise can be heard when utilizing the Blackbody units.
Here is an audio accessory that actually makes a noticeable improvement without
having to physically be connected or in contact with the target component! Now
some might think, "Oh that is poppy-cock. Ridiculous!" But I have been exploring
issues related to audio quality since 1969. And for the first time, a device has
made a major impact in this area of EMI/RFI pollution; a problem far more
severe in our current day than 43 years ago, when I first started this
exploration. And it is a tribute to young innovative minds (like Louis) that our
hobby (and profession) is simply not "all sewn up" yet; with everything
already known and measurable.

Observations -
DFPC Power Cords

The very nature of high frequency noise in our daily lives should suggest that
it is being contributed by every electronic device we use in our homes; even
refrigerators and dishwashers feature micro-processors in addition to switching
power supplies. All of which add their own soup of noise to your listening and
viewing environment. And since the AC wall power is shared by all your household
appliances, you can be certain high frequency noise is being added to
everything you hear or watch; depending upon the susceptibility of your gear.
How much of a difference can it possibly make to filter all that noise out of
the equation?

Oyaide IEC Connectors are chosen for best
possible audio reproduction

Well, I've found that even the best regulated circuits, with individual voltage
taps being tightly filtered and even balanced in design to eliminate any line
ripple, can all have their performance improved by eliminating the noise
before it gets into your equipment. And the best way to filter AC power is
either by A) generating it yourself, B) producing it from batteries, or C)
preventing the noise from getting into your gear from the AC line, in the first
place. As Louis Motek points out,

"Your
components are connected to power cords, and those power cords to power lines;
these power lines (including your power cords) not only transfer power, but also
act as antennas. Capacitive and inductive coupling (how an antenna receives a
signal) allows any plethora of HF noise to enter your gear either (a) through
the power lines, then into your gear through your power cords, or (b) directly
into your power cords and into your gear. Once inside, an unpredictable
cacophony of HF signal interaction occurs with every internal circuit. This is
called intermodulation distortion. Through this process of haphazard
interaction, information is added to and taken away from the component's
internal signals. In this way, the audio signal's integrity is lost.

The adverse
effects of EM noise can be born in any powered gear, and then travel to the next
piece of gear where the problem is compounded by more intermodulation. By the
time the signal reaches the speaker coils and becomes sound, a sort of acoustic
haze pollutes the audio event: spaciousness and dimensionality are diminished,
instrument delineation is clouded, the noise floor is raised, and treble audio
frequencies are artificially embossed. All of us have at one point or another
mistaken much of this for sonic detail, with it later resulting in listener
fatigue or confusion. It is therefore crucial that we audiophiles take our power
quality seriously.

Because the less distance HF noise travels down a line, the less attenuation it
undergoes, it follows that HF noise induction nearest the end of the power line
introduces the highest HF noise at the highest intensity into your gear. Since
HF noise (as seen by the gear) will be least attenuated when induced closest to
the gear, it follows that the portion of the power line occupied by the power
cord itself will have the greatest influence on the power quality provided to
the gear.

The
question, therefore, should not be about how HF noise in the last six feet could
possibly influence the sound, but instead how HF noise in the first 99 miles
could possibly influence the sound. For it doesn't. It can't. HF signal
attenuation occurs long before the wires even reach your neighborhood. The power
cord is the part of the power line that matters most."

What could be
simpler? And when substituting a DFPC power cord for a standard 16-gauge IEC
outfitted power cord (one that normally comes with a component), the sound
quality immediately changed, and in altogether enveloping and musical ways.
First, the tonal quality of the instruments (and even voices) became fuller in
the bass registers, while the treble became both smoother and more open and
extended. The presentation exhibited a much greater degree of bloom with much
tighter dynamics. As you might imagine, this made everything I played sound more
realistic and less like listening to a recording. In particular, the qualities I
associate with live sound (heard just with my ears) coming from acoustic
instruments, including pacing, rhythm, flare, sweep, and slam were all enhanced
by the removal of previously "uneliminatable" background hash.

When it came to recordings I made using the DFPC power cords, the A/B ts
reveal a slight lowortantly, there is
less overhang and ringing of the signal during the performance (less harmonic
distortion). When I compare the A/B recordings, I hear much more space being
delineated along with great textural information about the individual
instruments and the people playing them. There is simply more of the live
event making its way onto the master recording; clearly with less noise being
introduced from the AC wall power, previously obscured details are showing up in
sharp relief, thanks to the new quieter overall power supply.

With respect to which devices are most affected, source components showed the
most improvements, such as DACs and phono preamps (just as LessLoss
recommends). But almost equally, amplifiers obtained a new lease on life when
fed by the LessLoss DFPC Power Cords; exhibiting more explosive dynamics with
wider soundstage dimensions and clearer anchoring of the individual acoustic
elements within it. I would call the difference substantial!

Downside

When purchasing
"upgrades" and accessories, the tendency is to reach ever decreasing levels of
improvement while progressively spending more and more money. At what point does
this become pure folly in search of an elusive absolute sound? And yet,
the need for high frequency noise control is a proven area for audio and video
improvements in fidelity. When opening up this can of worms, one must carefully
weigh any perceived improvement versus an upgrade to an existing component. But
since almost any AV component will be affected when utilizing the Blackbody
ambient field conditioners, it really comes down to how much of an effect you
experience. In my one full year of experimenting with them, it has been
especially clear how HF noise and EMI/RFI affect higher resolution systems more,
since they inherently reproduce much more detail from recordings, thereby
allowing more changes to be observed. Since more information is relayed, it is
easier to tell whether that information is in focus or not; clear or distorted.
In other words, borrowing from the world of large format photography, it takes a
high resolution medium to make both a blur and also a fine line.

Usually with expensive "upgrades" (greater than $500), the point of diminishing
returns seems to come a whole lot faster. Considering how the Blackbody units
can transform a system from sounding harsh and flat to smooth, detailed, and
enveloping I am pressed into considering them a necessary "evil"; that is, what
they improve in an audio system and how them improve it cannot be
duplicated by anything else. So if you want to experience that "next level" of
audio refinement in your system, you will simply have to bite the bullet and
audition these passive EMF absorbers, for yourself.

Likewise, power
cords are something I have been experimenting with for several decades. And if
your audio system has teeth and nails, then the DFPC power cords will deliver
all the power and music, but remove the artificial bite and scratch that affect
most every playback system. Once gone, you may well find some seriously hidden
wonders that have been lurking behind the HF noise and distortion. It will wake
up your entire system and make your music library sound new; they are that
caliber of an investment. Together, the Blackbody and DFPC power cord provide a
reliable method of absorbing and deflecting both wire-bound and airborne
electronic garbage from getting into your sound (and video) system; much for the
better, as you will soon hear.

But... if you have read this far and are still saying to yourself,
"There is
NO WAY a power cord can make the slightest difference in sound quality unless
the equipment design or the previous power cord is defective!", then you really
need to determine two things:

1) Is your audio system (and room environment) capable of sufficient resolution
to reveal when most or all of the stray EM interference is gone? If you live in
a big city, the ambient noise from outside your home or apartment may very well
obscure the improvement. While I can hear the improvement that using the
LessLoss products has, even on a Bose Wave Radio, I do not regard that
improvement as significant, since the Bose already obscures most of the fine
audio details due to its cheap component choices.

2) Are your
components sufficiently high-end that their design has already filtered,
absorbed or redirected the EM field away from having any real audible effect? In
the case of the very best DACs and digital transports, even the use of several
Blackbody units (arrayed to equally cover the device under test), there was only
a very subtle improvement; owing to the heavy mechanical and electronic
shielding designed into these über over-engineered audio benchmarks; the
DCS Vivaldi or Scarlatti DAC System comes to mind.

3) If you have a negative bias towards any of these after market tweaks making
any difference, at all, because it is all essentially "snake oil", I still think
you deserve to give these products a shot. In the audio recording field,
improvements in fidelity are constantly being achieved through the use and
refinement of new technologies. It would be a true waste if something amazing
and sonically important actually came along which truly challenged the
established paradigms… and won! Would you want to be the only one who missed
it, because you had already made up your mind? Think, experiment, and (most of
all) listen!

Conclusions

If you're a
card-carrying audiophile, always out on the make for the latest and greatest
components and accessories, you have no doubt found times when your investment
sounded better or worse; apparently for no reason. One of the factors is both
the equipment itself, which generates and radiates high frequency noise and hash
(non-musically related distortion). Another is the high frequency switching
noise contributed locally by any of your typical household appliances, laptop
and desktop computers, cell phones, and those of your neighbors. All this HF EM
hash contaminates the sound of your audio equipment; making it sound harsh and
flat, with restricted dynamics and limited sound staging. At night, the effect
is lessened, as well as if you isolate one AV component from another; really a
logistical and sonic nightmare, on its own. If this sounds familiar, then you
need to invest some of your audio budget on (and some listening time with) some
of these solutions by LessLoss.

The subject of this KSS™ Report concerns the new Blackbody ambient EM
(electromagnetic) field conditioners, featuring a novel use of precision
reflection in order to create a localized EM damping zone; rather than a
reflection zone, which all objects represent to a greater or lesser degree. Also
of great interest is their DFPC power cords, utilizing the well-known "skin
effect" with solid core conductors; a companion product designed to filter out
high frequency EM noise from between the AC wall socket and your AV gear; by
preventing power based contaminants from ever entering your audio (and video)
gear, this power cord can easily attenuate or even eliminate a common source of
system noise (loss of quality and transparency).

With a little experimentation while listening, the DFPCs and Blackbody units
confer a progressively more focused, holographic, and dynamic sound upon just
about any system. Introducing more Blackbodies into a single system heightens
this effect, making almost any priced system sound more like listening past the
recording technology and feeling like you are listening to the real thing! The
DFPC power cords strip away further grit, grain, hash, and haze from the sound,
resulting in a far less electronic sounding stereophonic reproduction. Even some
not particularly interested in Audiophilia or sonic minutia will hear a
difference, for the better. These two different approaches to EM field
management and containment offer one of the few scientifically based audio (and
video) tweaks to have crossed my path in my four plus decades as a professional
audio engineer.

In the final analysis, while including the LessLoss accessories in the
production of several recent audio record albums I have produced and recorded,
there is just as much improvement in fidelity to realism when applying the
Blackbody and DFPC to the microphone system; used for my minimalist First
Person Perspective albums that are sold on my label, Epiphany Recordings
Ltd. Likewise, when copying LPs and reel-to-reel master tapes from analog to
digital, the use of the LessLoss products produces a better sounding, "closer to
the event" experience from the finished transfers (as heard in direct A/B before
and after comparisons). And, the combination of using LessLoss EM noise
absorbing products on both the recording as well as the playback end of the
chain makes both PCM and DSD master recordings sound as close to listening
straight off the microphone as at any time in my audio engineering career. You
really owe it to yourself to try these products; they will improve your system,
or Louis Motek will refund your money.

Highly
recommended!

Jeremy R.
Kipnis is a Tonmeister and A/V producer. His expertise includes large-format
still photography (a student of Ansel Adams and Youssef Karsh), 3-D
cinematography, and audiophile record production (for BMG/RCA, Chesky, Epiphany,
Sony, and Warner). His longtime love of cinema and TV fueled the 2008 design and
creation of his Kipnis Studio Standard (KSS)™—The Ultimate Home Theater and
Audiophile Listening Room, which he designs and creates for select clients
throughout the world. He is a six-year Guinness World Record winner for "Most
Complex Home Theater & Video Gaming System" (2008−2013). KSS™ can be seen in
feature articles and videos visible in 196 countries, and at his Web site: Kipnis-Studios.com.